The Melbourne Storm will look to farewell Cooper Cronk as a winner this Sunday at ANZ Stadium in the 2017 Grand Final. Standing in their way are the Cowboys looking to become the first team to win the premiership after finishing the season in eighth place.

So for years now there has been a push for the Perth Pirates to enter the NRL. I know form me personally this would be great. I have strong connections with people in WA and i know if there was a team out west it would really open the game up. What are you're thoughts on which regions would benefit from having and NRL them and how this would benefit the game?

I agree however ALL games are broadcast across nine network and foxtel . I think opening up the game will defiantly draw in more fans across the country, particular on the south and wear coasts. I also think another NZ team is a great idea.

Only as long as that did not go the way of NBA live which is about $250.00 for one season of games. granted there are many more games each week in the NBA but is that still worth it. i would see the NRL version being grossly over priced.

Yeah it's great, the computers hooked to the tv and the HD quality is superb.

I think the similar thing NRL brought out this year was $90 for the season? Problem there was you could only stream through phones and tablets, and channel 9 games still looked like arse even on a 10 inch screen.

I don't think a Central Coast team would do anything for the league. It won't bring in any extra players like a team in Perth, NZ or PNG might. Also they never seem that interested in any games that get played in their own backyard. The crowds are always poor and if they can't fill out a stadium for a few games a year how will they do that for home games. Look what the stadium is like when the Rabbitohs go to Perth.

Well, the comment about the crowds being poor is just 100% false. The Manly vs Souths game there was a full house capacity crowd, and the other two games there this season that I can recall (Manly vs Warriors/Tigers) also got or close to the 20k mark.

I just think that the Central Coast location would be one of the easiest to set up.

This isn't actually giving anything to the game though. All of those people are fans whether there is a Bears team or not. This doesn't give any new players to the talent pool. Also it doesn't grown the game to any new states.

I am for this for a few reasons. I think they could introduce a conference system of NSW and others. My preference is for teams from Perth, Central Qld (Rockhampton or Mackay or perhaps play a few at both like Wests with Campbelltown and Leichardt), Wellington with a match or two played in Christchurch each year and a second Brisbane team.

is there the possibility of moving a team from sydney to elsewhere that might help the game spread whilst avoiding the problems of the lack of top tier players, then in a few years you could add an unique team.

Wellington would be a better option, possibly with 1 game played per season in Christchurch and Dunedin. The main problem is that quite a few teams already play out of the Caketin and there is really no other appropriate stadium. (Build a 25-30k rectangular field in Mt Victoria, Petone or Porirua perhaps? Selling Athletic Park was shortsighted)

But where ever it is it needs to happen, and quickly. How many Kiwis played in the Grand Final? That's nothing. A few years down the track and we will be outnumbering youse.

Not enough in my opinion, there's less people in the entire island than there are in Auckland, and far fewer Pacific Islanders/Maori, who are by far the largest demographic for the NZRL. Also travel times are very prohibitive, in Auckland you have Whangarei which is only 2 hours away, or Hamilton which is under 90 mins, even Rotorua/Tauranga is close enough for a day trip, while in the South Island its more than 4 hours from Christchurch to Dunedin, and that's not even the southern tip, while domestic flying is still a royal pain in the ass to find flights, accommodation and affordable tickets.

Why are you not convinced about PNG? I would love to know your reasoning. The whole country is more league mad then Queensland for the last 8 years at State of Origin time. A team in their country would also help out their national team. On top of that the whole thing is just exciting for the league.

Yeah. Your point is valid and I think a Qld Cup team is a great middle ground. PNG will love this. I hope we get to watch some of their games. If they played any at Browne Park here in Rockhampton I would go watch.

Yeah, if PNG can show with the QLD team that Port Moresby is a safe place to travel to, the infrastructure is up to standard and the crowds would be successful I could see them getting an NRL team in maybe not the next expansion but the one after, if there is a one after.

Yeah. I guess I never really thought about this to begin with. We did discuss security in this comment thread somewhere. I guess this is one great thing about the Queensland Cup team. We can see what everything would be like and how well it would run.

I don't think a Central Coast team would do anything for the league. It won't bring in any extra players like a team in Perth, NZ or PNG might. Also they never seem that interested in any games that get played in their own backyard. The crowds are always poor and if they can't fill out a stadium for a few games a year how will they do that for home games. Look what the stadium is like when the Rabbitohs go to Perth.

Exactly. They wouldn't have the resources or support to set up a team right now. Not only that, but the sport science department from the University of Newcastle campus on the Central Coast is already heavily affiliated with the Newcastle Knights. There goes some research and cheap support opportunities.

Couldn't agree more with your point about the rabbits and Perth. For me interstate teams are 100% the way to go, but there stills is a large nrl following in the central coast and a lot of young players in that region.

I think one of the biggest problems in the NRL though is talent dilution with to many team. Whether there is a team on the Central Coast or not all those young players will end up challenging for spots in the NRL if they are good enough. However if there is a team in Perth it will create new fans and new players that could actually grow the talent pool. I think we need to create new fans in a new market rather then just recycling existing fans that we already have.

There are many cities that I think should get a rugby league but I have my priorities. I think we should first try and focus on giving Perth a club and also another Queensland team, for example, Sunshine Coast, Central Queensland, Rockhampton and Cairns.

Once we've done that we should then try and give PNG a team, and then maybe even give Adelaide a team to make it an even competition

Then, and only then, we should give New Zealand a second team and also a central coast team.

Whether or not we know where to expand, we do need to expand somewhere. As the game becomes more and more popular, more places, not even necessarily from Australia, will want a team. 16 teams is not enough for a game this popular.

This competition should be supplemented by NSW cup and QLD cup, this is where many of the historical suburban teams can play. The schedules should be such that the NRL players still play in at least half the NSW and QLD cup games (inc finals). This is similar to how Super Rugby fits around club rugby.

This would allow the fans to support their teams at traditional suburban grounds, without the clubs having to fund large stadiums. Then the large NRL teams can operate to the critical mass that would make them both viable, but also truly national.

I have come to this point after following the NSW cup this year, and I have found much more pleasure in taking my son to watch games on a Saturday afternoon at Henson Park than in any NRL fixture. I only hope more people can experience the simple pleasure of a simple game with all of the passion, but not the hype and pomp that exists to justify the exorbitant prices at an NRL game. I would now be happy for my team to play only in the second tier, provided the first their team is representative ( Eg is a Sydney team, and not a existing Sydney team that I may be forced to hate) and I can support them as well.

Whether you agree or disagree I think this is a conversation worth having.

i see where you're coming from and i don't mind the idea. however i think a massive change to the competition like this would in fact hurt the game. i think viewership would drop and people would be less inclined to support their teams if they get moved to a lower tier of the sport. (i personally stick by mine in sickness and in health and would follow my team in any tier but many many other might not) I is just my belief that the game right now is organised correctly i don't think a massive overhaul is needed, just expansion. Ticket prices and large stadiums vs traditional grounds are a different matter in my mind and i am a little torn on that topic. but i do like you idea, i just don't necessarily subscribe to it.

How about a Darwin or NT team, do you guys think that this would be a smart or bad idea? it could open the game up more, im not sure what the following for the spot is up there. or it could completely fail. same could be said for a Tasmanian team.

No chance for Tasmania, for one there wouldn't be enough major companies putting their hands up for sponsorship (a reason why they can't get an AFL team down there) and secondly, they don't really follow league at all.